Puzzle Pieces
by Xnasha Minstrel
Summary: A series of drabbles or oneshots set in AUs in which Puzzle/Blindshipping is vigorously explored.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: **Now, I won't lie and say that this drabble series is not inspired by the Mythology Set by Reizbar-Ookami. Any one of you who have read the set probably know how ridiculously awesome her stories are, and how beautifully she pulls off all those AUs. So I thought, "someone should do the same thing for puzzleshipping!(Or blindshipping or whatever)" and this thing was born. Mix with large amounts of nostalgia and the Magi manga (for those of you following that, WTF SOLOMON AND SHEBA), and you have this first installment in my first YGO work. In case you were wondering, though, this isn't a direct crossover with Magi, as I will be tweaking the system of magis and how they work.

As always, I'm not too sure about updates on anything (bad Xnasha, bad!) but what the hell. Also as always, I'm winging these stories as I go, but meh.

Read and enjoy.

* * *

[Magi's Choice]

He sighed as he let the bit of feather drift slowly onto the ground before gently guiding it with a flick of his hand and sending it flying again. With precise gestures, he made it dance through the air before giving up and throwing his hands up, letting it drift down again.

"This is so boring!" said Yugi, the magi of the Khemet Empire.

Well, to be accurate, he wasn't exactly the magi yet. After all, he had only just heard the Call, and was following his instincts to some place where he could find the King that needed his guidance.

He momentarily flushed as he recalled the impressions of a confident smirk, tanned skin, and glinting red eyes. God, he should be over this! It was not some pubescent fantasy, it was the Call, and he shouldn't be attracted to his King who he's only met through dreams and visions!

When Yugi told his grandpa about the Call, he only laughed and teased him about falling in love with someone and not bringing him home to meet him. He had flushed tomato red and sputtered incoherently while Grandpa chuckled. Within the next week, he was with a caravan headed towards the capital, with one of his grandpa's bronze staves, a pack of supplies, and the warmth of his grandpa's send-off hug. He left his village in the mountains to follow his fate.

The canvas flap of the wagon opened, letting in more light. The caravan master, Orba, stuck her head in and gestured to Yugi with a grin. "Well pipsqueak, we're here! Time to explore the center of the empire!"

Yugi got out of the wagon and looked at the city in front of him in absolute awe.

In the horizon, the city with its golden spires and sprawling buildings gleamed under the sun, spreading itself across the golden sands. He could sense the hundreds of thousands of people, shouting, singing, dying, and living, all within the limits of this one place.

"It's so..._alive._" Yugi continued looking in awe. Orba laughed a little at his wide-eyed innocence.

"Of course it is! It is the capital, after all. Traders of all origins and wares come here to strut their stuff. Other people are here because the Emperor's palace is also here, serving as the administrative headquarters as well. The microcosm of the empire all squeezed here. C'mon, let's find you an inn to settle in. It's the least I can do after you helped out with the wolves on the road! You turned out to be such a cute lucky charm."

And despite Yugi's protests that he could handle himself, Orba proceeded to do just that.

* * *

"By Ra...this is so _boring_." he pouted as he signed yet another report. "If I don't get out of here and do something I swear I will go crazy."

Mahaad sighed. "My Prince, you still have the proposal on the bridge to go through today, not to mention the reports on the wheat exports and the ones on the movements of the Kou troops..."

Atem turned up his pout even more. "Please, Mahaad! I've been dealing with all this for the last two weeks! I'm surprised I lasted this long, really. I swear on the three gods if I really don't get out of the palace I will do something drastic." Not to mention the fact he kept having this nagging feeling to find someone lately, even though he had no idea who he was supposed to be looking for.

Mahaad tried to resist, really he did, but when you had a Prince of Khemet doing his best to pout you into submission there was very little you could actually do in the face of that unstoppable force.

Some minutes later, Atem left the palace dressed in plain clothes and a brown cloak.

_Now to find someone to play games with..._

* * *

Yugi wandered the market, looking around at all the different people and things. Everywhere the merchants were hawking their wares, from fresh fruit to cloth to cheap copper and silver bracelets. Other people were yelling at the top of their voices, fighting to be heard over the noise. Bird sellers walked through with their unhappy merchandise squawking miserably. Yugi frowned a little, sensing the unhappiness of the poor birds. They didn't ask to be paraded through a market under the blazing sun and sold to the highest bidder.

He continued walking until a certain stall caught his couldn't help but be drawn by it, and he grinned when he realized that it was a game stall. It was in the Mutou genes to always be drawn to games.

The merchant grinned at him, the smile of a fellow game enthusiast. "Look around, son, see what you like! Feel free to try out any that catches your attention."

The spiky-haired magi examined and gasped in delight at all of the different carved pieces and puzzles arranged around the shop. There was everything from marbles and chess boards to strange puzzles that he had no idea how to solve. "This is so amazing..."

His eyes eventually landed on a box. It was intricately carved, with graceful hieroglyphs running along the edges, and shone as if coated with Eye of Horus stood out in relief on the front. Yugi carefully opened the box to see scattered pieces of strangely shaped metal.

The merchant noted his interest. "Funny you should take a liking to that one. Nobody has ever solved that puzzle yet, not a single one. In fact, at this point I've given up on it being solved at all. If you can solve it, I'll let you have it." The man grinned. "That is...if you can. I haven't even yet seen anyone who could even put two pieces together."

The magi frowned in concentration, his brow furrowing as he examined all the pieces. _The shapes of the pieces are so twisted that it__'__s hard to see what final shape it__'__s supposed to this puzzle is put together you probably couldn__'__t even tell it was in pieces in the first place. Wait a second..._

With steady hands, he ran his hands along the one of the pieces, feeling the smoothness of the metal. Then, he took another piece, one that somehow just felt _right_, and guided it to the catch. With an almost inaudible _click_, the piece fell into place and the seam of it disappeared.

He was so absorbed in his task that he didn't notice someone had walked right in front of him, not until a pair of tanned hands snapped one of the pieces into place.

Yugi looked up and stared into equally shocked and mesmerized red eyes.

* * *

The prince didn't say a word as the other boy stared at him. He was afraid to even blink, as if the other boy with the violet eyes would bolt like a startled gazelle if he made any sudden moves.

Without another word, the boy turned shy eyes back onto the puzzle, and slipped another piece into place. Silently, the two of them worked together, their hands in tandem and the golden puzzle taking shape. The brushes of bare skin sent electricity down Atem's spine, and made him almost breathless.

Soon, the two of them held the inverted pyramid in their hands while the merchant exclaimed over it.

"What a wonder! Shame that I couldn't solve it myself of course, but sometimes that's life. Since you two solved it, the puzzle belongs to you now. May it bring you much luck and fortune."

He spoke for the first time since he stood there. "Thank you. I think it already has. May the gods bless you for having a kind heart as well." The other boy still had a strange look on his face, like he was dreaming with his eyes wide open. He suddenly shook his head, like shaking out all the dreams, before smiling gently. "Hello. I'm Yugi."

Atem smiled back, "I'm Atem", and gently took the boy's hand (_how odd that this should feel so natural_, a rational part of his mind muttered, but he ignored it) and together they ran, past the merchant who cheerily waved them goodbye (he'll find the small stack of coins later), and out of the loud marketplace.

* * *

"What is this place?" The boy said softly, looking around him in wonder.

The little oasis-like pond was gleaming. The oncoming dusk dyed everything a glorious gold. The grasses swayed in the breeze as he turned to face him.

"This is the place where apparently my mother met my father for the first time." Atem said, spreading his arms in a sweeping gesture. "At the time, my father was already Pharaoh, and my mother a Persian princess, and it was here that they met each other on a personal basis and fell in love." Yugi didn't look bothered or shocked at all at the casual mention of his heritage.

And there, in the lengthening shadows of the dusk, they talked about everything and nothing at was strange, it was truly strange, but they told the other exactly what was going through their heads. It didn't feel wrong at all to lay out their thoughts to a person they had just met.

There, they told stories of their families, little things about the people they loved, and of their dreams, their plans for the future.

"I want to take the crown sometime in the future, not too soon though, and I want to make this empire an equal place to live." said Atem. "A place where it's okay to be different, a place where individualism is rewarded and encouraged, not punished."

Yugi nodded. "I think you'll make a wonderful King." The rukh, the sacred spirits of life, started fluttering around them, their little wings of light brushing against their faces, like butterflies. A cluster of them gathered around the Puzzle. Atem looked up at them, and then at him, in wonder, realization in his eyes. "A Magician of Creation...a Magi!" he whispered.

The shorter boy stood up and offered his hand to Atem. "I want to be your magi then. I want to be there supporting you every step of the way. Let's make a promise, on this Puzzle and on the rukh. Let's make this empire a good place to live, according to your ideal!"

And Atem took Yugi's outstretched hand.

* * *

**AN: Okay time for explanations! (That I don****'****t have!)**

**Magis are usually perfectly normal people, though most of them tend to be magicians beforehand. They one day receive a ****'****Call****'****, so to say, full of dreams, visions, and impressions, that somewhere out there is a King that needs their guidance. They then gain a sudden sensitivity to the rukh and the ability to draw on the energy of the world and flow of life around them. This makes them incredibly powerful beyond any normal magician. They usually then seek out their King, and support them in making their visions true.**

**...ahahaha I really just pulled this out of me ass.**

**I do have another drabble ready though, so that'll be out in probably the next hour or so...I hope.**

**Drop the starving author a review? **


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: I said this was going to be up in a bit, I meant what I said.**

* * *

[Not Being Persephone]

Not being Persephone, he did not scream when the dark god sprung from the Underworld and brought him into the realm of the dead; and not being Hades, he liked the fact that his captive did not scream.

They decided to tour the sights of the Underworld together, and somehow the captive found beauty in the most unexpected places. The captor found beauty in his captive beyond that of his face, and indulged in his warm heart and gentle nature. In that strange journey, they found much in common with each other, and began to appreciate the mind behind the face.

Slowly, it was no longer "captive" and "captor", but became "Yugi" and "Yami".

Not being a delicate flower goddess, Yugi continued to flourish and glow even in the darkness, and did not wilt, instead embracing the ruler of it all.

Not being a cold death god, Yami basked in that warmth, shielded it with his darkness, and was incredibly gentle with his touches, conveying deep love and devotion, leaving Yugi breathless.

The two of them became inseparable. A bit more of life bled into the Underworld, and instead of all blackness it was now shadow, a blend of warmth and darkness. The harsh justice of the dark was tempered with mercy for the first time.

Not being Persephone, Yugi declined the pomegranate and the half-imprisonment it represented, and unhesitatingly tipped back the goblet of ambrosia.

And not being Hades, Yami's smile as he went hand in hand with Yugi to greet the other gods was not of smug arrogance, but of genuine happiness.

* * *

**AN: Instead of the pomegranate and imprisonment for half the year, Yugi chose to willingly drink the ambrosia, forever binding him to the Underworld and Yami in an ****equal**** partnership, not that vaguely creepy deal-thing they called marriage in the original myth.**

**I really don****'****t know where I was going with this one. My brain was in a **_**really **_**weird place with this one. Add in reading really weird poetry before bed and too much pizza, and this thing is what you get. **


	3. Other Side of the Mirror

**AN: Just got back from hiking my calves are on fire and **_**uuunnnnggghhh.**_** Screw my life, and screw my life **_**hard**_**. **

**This one is extra fluffy, because the latest Tokyo Ghoul chapter is enough angst to drown fifty rabid bears as big as tanks.**

**In other news, a teacher strike is going on in my part of the world. My summer vacation has just been extended indefinitely, not that I****'****m happy about that. Makes getting back into the routine a right bitch.**

**In other other news, update!**

[Other Side of the Mirror]

He turned from his books as he sensed the other walk in front of the mirror. "Hello, Aibou."

Yugi smiled at him and deposited his own pile of books, no less dusty than the ones in his. "Hey, Yami. Look at what I finally found buried deep inside the Sprite Archives!"

Yami blinked as he read down the spines of the leather-bound tomes. "_Exodus of Lilith?! _I've been looking for that for...for..._months!_ That thing has the original incantation of the Thelma spell, which proved the Heron Principle! Are you telling me that it was in the _Sprite Archives?!_"

Yugi frowned. "...There's nothing _wrong_ with it being in the Sprite Archives."

"...the Sprites, aibou? The ones that can't muster enough concentration to finish reading _The Cat in the Hat? _It's like seeing a library for two-year-olds have books on quantum incantations."

"Okay, I can't really argue with that. Maybe one of them thought the cover was really pretty and just hoarded it, and then forgot about it?" Yugi said as he skimmed the book, trying to find the incantation. "Oooooh, look! Look! I found the first Pillar Rune for summoning the Silent Swordsman! I didn't know that was in here! Now all I need is the other rune to do it. I'll have to adjust my spellbook to fit him, but I know Kuriboh would just love him to bits."

Yami blinked, and reached out for one of the books on his table. "I came across it in the Index the other day. Would you like me to read it out first?"

Yugi agreed quite enthusiastically, and they spent the evening reading, talking, and laughing with each other.

* * *

"It's getting late over here, Yami. I better head off to bed. You have that casting tomorrow, right? Best of luck on that, by the way." Yugi said as he tried to smother another yawn.

He chuckled as he closed the last of the books. "And I know you have the Shumann Hall lecture tomorrow. Time flies when I'm talking with you."

"Goodnight then, Yami." The shorter of the two leaned forward and kissed the other through the glass of the mirror.

"Goodnight, Yugi."

The spell-connection ended, and Yami was left staring at his own reflection. The mage sighed, and blew out his candle.

Long-distance relationships were hard, but for some people, they were totally worth it.

* * *

There were some mornings when you just _know _that things were going to go terribly wrong. This was one of those mornings.

For Yami, it started with the sugar-high sprite crashing through his window at five in the morning.

And it continued with the exploding coffee maker, the student who accidentally wrote פיצוץinstead of להבה so that instead of a steady flame it ended up way wrong (those words look nothing alike so Yami felt slightly justified in handing him detention time and the unenviable task of cleaning up the shattered glass _without magic_), and the Sumerian witch-in-residence who _insisted _on predicting his fate of dark powers. As if he and the rest of the university didn't already know that, she then had to proclaim it to the rest of them in _very _public fashion, involving full-scale nudity and harassing of passers-by. After she snapped out of the trance she burst into tears and ran off. He had to remind himself that it wasn't exactly her fault.

Yami collapsed into bed, utterly exhausted. What a hectic day, and it was only Tuesday. The gods are pissed at him for something he had done, and boy were they holding a grudge.

The sound of the mirror-spell starting up woke him from his stupor, and Yami sat up, eager to get at least _one _bright point out of today. "Hello, Aibou."

He took in the other's flushed cheeks, bright eyes and excited expression. "What's going on? Are you alright?"

"More than alright! Guess who's getting tenure at Millennium!" Yugi did a little twirl in front of the mirror, his grin stretching his face.

"Really?!" Yami said, then yelped as he fell off his bed. Damn it, his legs had fallen asleep!

"...did you just...fall off your bed in excitement?" An awkward silence. Then Yugi doubled over himself and started laughing. Yami joined in, happier than he could remember being for a while.

At the end of the night, the both of them breathless from laughing, Yugi ended the spell from his end of the world, and Yami turned in for the night.

His last thought before he fell asleep was that in the end the day didn't turn out so bad after all.

* * *

**AU where they****'****re both mages, and have this sort of long-distance relationship going on through magical mirrors. They get through the months of not seeing each other except at the yearly gathering by having cute dorky conversations with each other through the mirror-com.**

**Because they****'****re adorable like that.**

**For some reason, this drabble doesn****'****t quite flow as much as my other ones, because for some reason, it refused to be ended on a good note. I just couldn****'****t tie it off neatly, but meh.**

**Why are all of my stories so fluffy lately? For any of you looking for angst, don't worry; I'm sure it'll end up here...eventually.  
**

**Excuse me while I go cry over Tokyo Ghoul. I may or may not start writing fluffy Nobody Dies Everybody Lives fic for it, because Jesus H. Christ everyone in that seriously deserves a big hug and the knowledge of what cookies _should _taste like. And probably a baby or two to huggle. I'm looking at you, Nishiki and Kimi!  
**

**Drop the starving author a review?**


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